


rose petals

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Pride 2018: 30 Days of S.W.O.R.D. [28]
Category: HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Birthday Presents, Canon Trans Character, Established Relationship, F/M, Multi, Polyamory, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 04:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15088937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: He hears the soft sounds of her tearing open the envelope to free the card inside. When he hears her curious noise, he forces himself to glance over his shoulder. Immediately his head whips back around when he sees the check in her hands, unfolded now.“Money?” Kizzy asks. “This is… Quite a lot. What am I supposed to do with it? I can’t think of anything I need to buy with it, pretty much everything is covered by the club—”Rocky clears his throat, pretending the coffee pot in front of him is the most fascinating appliance his eyes have ever happened upon. “I looked through our finances a little and realized we could spare the money. It should be enough to top out the goal you had in your savings.”“My savings— Oh.” Kizzy’s voice dies and Rocky grips the edge of the counter, waiting.





	rose petals

White is the calling card of the White Rascals. Rocky, Kizzy, and Kaito had chosen the color together, though Rocky clung to it like a lifeline more often than not. Protecting women means more to him than anything in the world, the only thing he can do to honor the lives of his family, the lives that were lost due to his father’s behavior. White is their color, the proof of who they are, their strength and their foundation. Unstained, untainted by any other color, they remain protectors and beacons of hope for the women who need someone to lean on.

To Rocky, Kizzy is the personification of this concept. Her life has been difficult and is still difficult because no matter what she does, there are always people who stand against her. But she always faces every obstacle in her path without hesitation and never gives him, always fights back even if it leaves her bruised and bloody, even if it leaves her stumbling on unsteady legs. Rocky has seen her stand back up even when she shouldn’t be able to. He’s never had to offer her a hand to get her back on her feet, either. The few times he tried, she smacked him.

“You should know better.” Voice slurring from exhaustion, dark circles under her eyes because none of them slept so much in the beginning, working too hard with too few people and too many women to save. “I can take care of myself, Rocky. You should know that.”

“Right, of course.” He’d committed that to memory, knowing better than to insert himself where he wasn’t needed, knowing better than to try to make it seem like Kizzy needed his help.

She needs no one. He knows this. She chooses to stay with him and Kaito, but she doesn’t have to do that and would probably be perfectly fine if she had to run the White Rascals all on her own. Rocky has no doubt of that; he knows how strong she is, how smart and capable, has seen it during the evenings when he can’t be here and she has to watch over things for him. She was the one who suggested the fund to pay for the laundry of the women who work at Club Heaven, the one who always makes sure they get home safe and sound.

Rocky wishes he could do more to show her how much he appreciates her and her efforts, something to show her how much he cares about her. He isn’t so good at words, which is why he keeps speaking to a minimum and lets Kizzy do the talking when it’s necessary. Though he and Kaito have never explicitly discussed it, Kaito must feel the same because he keeps so many of his words to himself. That doesn’t make him any weaker, though, doesn’t soften the blows of his fists or the strike in his kicks. Silent but deadly.

Kizzy’s birthday is around the corner, this much Rocky knows. She hasn’t brought it up, and he knows she skipped celebrating it the last few years from what Kaito has told him. This surprises him more than a little; he would have pegged Kizzy as someone who wanted to go out of her way to celebrate her birthday, have an extravagant party. They could do it, of course, because Club Heaven would be more than happy to host such an experience. But she says nothing and lets the hours tick by, giving him no impression she even knows the date is approaching.

Kizzy is too organized not to notice. She’s ignoring it on purpose even if Rocky doesn’t have proof of this. He knows her well enough to know when she’s ignoring something.

“Should we do anything for her?” he asks Kaito one night when it’s just the two of them, Kizzy having left to escort someone back to her apartment. “A surprise of some sort?”

Kaito shakes his head, a quick movement of his head, dark hair shifting underneath the club lighting. “No. If she wanted us to, she would have said something by now.”

“You seem pretty adamant about that,” Rocky murmurs.

“She was very unhappy the last time I tried to do something for her when she wanted to let the day pass on without notice.” Kaito sighs and tips his head back, eyes fixed on some point in the ceiling. “She must have had a bad birthday at some point.”

This makes sense. Rocky knows that traumatic events can ruin perfect ordinary days; he still likes to be alone on the anniversary of the night he found his mother and sister dead, ruminating over the past, over the childhood that could have turned him into a monster if he let it. Kizzy and Kaito respect him and give him the personal space he needs to handle it, reassuring him that they’re nearby if he needs them, but otherwise they let him be.

Still, the idea of doing  _ nothing _ for her is not acceptable to Rocky, not really. He checks a few of the financial books for Club Heaven in the back against the more personal expenses and savings Kizzy keeps track of. He balances and re-balances to make sure his math is correct, and even then he isn’t confident enough not to seek out Aizawa and have him double check as well, just in case. Aizawa is reliable enough when it comes to numbers and he doesn’t ask questions when Rocky sets the numbers in front of him and asks him to double check.

It only takes a few hours after that to make the necessary arrangements. Rocky leaves early the next morning while Kizzy and Kaito are still in bed, looking at them together for a moment, lingering in the doorway of their shared bedroom. Though he had originally set out on this mission on his own, he’s grateful to have them in his life. He hopes they both know that. At least, he hopes Kizzy will know just how grateful after today.

The flower ship is not far away from their apartment and Rocky picks up white roses, cliche but able to get the point across. When he sits down to write something in the card, he settles for a simple birthday greeting and quickly signs his name. Words are difficult, and the slip of paper he tucks inside of the card before sealing it in the envelope should be enough to get the message across. At least, he sure hopes it is.

When Kizzy comes downstairs— Kaito always sleeps just a little later than either of them, wallows around in the sheets until they’re cold— she stops at the sight of the vase on the table. Rocky made sure the roses were in water to stay fresh just in case she decided to sleep later than usual. The card rests against them and Rocky watches her expression carefully as he pours her a cup of coffee, passing it to her and kissing her on the cheek.

“Happy birthday, Kizzy,” he says, well aware his voice sounds gruff and low.

Kizzy frowns at him, setting the mug down on the table. “I thought you hadn’t noticed my birthday was coming. I don’t normally celebrate it.”

“Kaito said something about that, but… It felt wrong not to do anything, even something small, to show you that I appreciate you.” Rocky can feel his cheeks burning and quickly turns away, busying himself with adding bread to the toaster.

“Ah, I see. I’ll let it go just this once, then. And the flowers are pretty.” Kizzy moves to the table and Rocky watches out of the corner of his eye, the way she cups a bloom carefully in her hand and leans down to inhale the aroma. They’re fragrant, fresh cut just this morning. “White because of course they are. It’s very romantic, Rocky, thank you.”

“Don’t forget your card,” Rocky reminds her.

This time, he has to turn away from the table entirely, not ready for her reaction to this, knowing she might have a negative one. Kaito had warned him, and he chose not to take the warning, so anything that happens now is his fault and any punishment Kizzy decides to dole out will be his responsibility to take. He just hopes that she accepts the present even if she decides to kick his ass for giving it to her in the first place.

He hears the soft sounds of her tearing open the envelope to free the card inside. When he hears her curious noise, he forces himself to glance over his shoulder. Immediately his head whips back around when he sees the check in her hands, unfolded now.

“Money?” Kizzy asks. “This is… Quite a lot. What am I supposed to do with it? I can’t think of anything I need to buy with it, pretty much everything is covered by the club—”

Rocky clears his throat, pretending the coffee pot in front of him is the most fascinating appliance his eyes have ever happened upon. “I looked through our finances a little and realized we could spare the money. It should be enough to top out the goal you had in your savings.”

“My savings— Oh.” Kizzy’s voice dies and Rocky grips the edge of the counter, waiting.

The silence in the room is nerve wracking but before Rocky finds the courage to turn around and look at her properly, Kizzy’s arms are around his waist in a vice grip. He can feel her face pressed between his shoulder blades and freezes, not sure what to do, what to say. When he hears the soft shuddery intake of her breath, though, he quickly twists around to wrap his arms around her, letting her tuck her head up under his chin.

“Rocky,” she says, the sound of tears in her voice gutting him, “you didn’t have to do this. I would have had enough in a few more months. You didn’t have to.”

Rocky tilts his head so he can rest his cheek against her hair, running his hands up and down her back. “But I know it’s important to you. And we’re able to do it now. It’s not fair to make you keep waiting when we’re finally in a financial state where we can do it now.”

Kizzy breathes against his neck, her breath warm and damp against his skin, before pressing a soft kiss to his throat. “Thank you.  _ Thank you. _ I’ve been waiting for so long that it doesn’t feel real that it can finally happen. You know… We’ll have to travel to do this.”

“You and Kaito. Someone has to stay here with the White Rascals, and Kaito’s already intent on following you everywhere.” Rocky is aware when his voice tips fond and he thinks he feels Kizzy smile against his skin. “Stay in touch. I can keep things running without you guys for a little while. You’ve waited enough years for this. You deserve to be happy.”

“I  _ am _ happy, you idiot. What woman wouldn’t be happy to have two amazing men in her life who’d do anything for her? Fool. But I’ll take you up on this, because I  _ want _ this.” Kizzy leans back, swiping at her eyes, tears dampening her eyelashes.

Rocky catches her by the chin and waits until she looks at him before he leans down to kiss her, soft and easy, warm all the way through. “I’m glad you’re happy. That’s all I want.”

“Well, you’ve certainly put in the work to make me smile.” Kizzy fists a hand in the collar of his shirt, pulling him down for a harder kiss, one that flames that warmth into a burn, simmering low in Rocky’s gut. “You’ll really be okay here without us for a little while?”

“Of course,” Rocky reassures her.

By the time Kaito comes downstairs to join them, Kizzy has already cut some of the roses shorter, bullying him into a chair so she can braid them into his hair.


End file.
